Learning to live green and live together

People often say that money is the number one topic of marriage arguments. So far, at least, Maggie and I are pretty good about avoiding that pitfall. We have a central budget for shared expenses and can spend the rest of our money however we like as individuals. That works pretty well at the moment, since I make less and spend less, which makes our budgets proportionately equal.

No, what we mainly argue about is food. I’m definitely a meat and potatoes kind of guy. If a meal doesn’t have some kind of starch or serious protein, it just doesn’t fill me up. Maggie, on the other hand, figures the greener and crunchier the better. I’m also much less willing to spend extra money on organic food when a frozen pizza will work just as well.

Since moving in together, I’ve had to compromise more with my meals. Maggie won’t eat meat if it isn’t local or organic, so I’ve gotten pretty good at making breads and pasta-based dishes. I also learned early on to come up with secondary food sources in case one of Maggie’s meals just doesn’t quite do the job. The good news is that since we split the cooking relatively evenly, I have about as many leftovers as Maggie does. That gives me a good source of extra protein and Maggie a way of getting the veggies she craves.

Unfortunately, it often still seems easier to eat out. When we’re in a restaurant, I can get something meaty and Maggie can get something green (or local). We’re trying to fight that temptation, partly by making eating out part of our date budget.

Tonight, however, convenience got the best of us and we spent the evening out, first dining and then at the library. Of course, if this happens too often, maybe we will start arguing over money…